Author

photo credits: Wikimedia Commons
Neil Simon
American playwright, writer, academic
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1927
-
2018
country of citizenship: United States of America
language of expression: English
educated at: New York University Tisch School of the Arts, DeWitt Clinton High School, University of Denver
occupation: playwright, screenwriter, dramaturge, film producer, lyricist, librettist
award received: Tony Award for Best Author, Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Kennedy Center Honors, Helmerich Award, Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, honorary doctor of the Hofstra University
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly adaptations of his plays. He has received more combined Oscar and Tony Award nominations than any other writer.Simon grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. His parents' financial difficulties affected their marriage, giving him a mostly unhappy and unstable childhood. He often took refuge in movie theaters, where he enjoyed watching early comedians like Charlie Chaplin. After graduating from high school and serving a few years in the Army Air Force Reserve, he began writing comedy scripts for radio programs and popular early television shows. Among the latter were Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, (where in 1950 he worked alongside other young writers including Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart and Selma Diamond) and The Phil Silvers Show, which ran from 1955 to 1959.
His first produced play was Come Blow Your Horn (1961). It took him three years to complete and ran for 678 performances on Broadway. It was followed by two more successes, Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965). He won a Tony Award for the latter. It made him a national celebrity and "the hottest new playwright on Broadway." From the 1960s to the 1980s he wrote for stage and screen; some of his screenplays were based on his own works for the stage. His style ranged from farce to romantic comedy to more serious dramatic comedy. Overall, he garnered 17 Tony nominations and won three awards. In 1966, he had four successful productions running on Broadway at the same time, and in 1983 he became the only living playwright to have a New York theatre, the Neil Simon Theatre, named in his honor.
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Series
0Works
24The Sunshine Boys
play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972
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author: Neil Simon